At a time where academics and young people are making inroads in South African politics, Kabelo Nthekiso has also entered the political fray wherein young people want to change the political landscape of South Africa.
The 26-year-old Nthekiso is PR Ward Councilor of Al Jama-ah Party in Ward 8 Madibeng, a master’s degree student at Unisa and President of Progressive Students Movement all in one.
Nthekiso is one of the young people representing residents in the Madibeng Local Municipal Council.
He was elected to the position at the age of 23 during the 2021 local government polls.
“We have a footprint countrywide as the Progressive Students Movement,” Nthekiso told Tshwane Talks in an exclusive interview this week.
“Our organisation caters mainly for high school learners under the Department of Basic Education, but we also have members at tertiary level,” he said.
He explained that the organisaton’s executive committee is made up of learners from high schools as well as students from tertiary level around the country
Nthekiso pointed out that the Progressive Students Movement welcomes the appointment of Siviwe Gwarube as the new Minister of Basic Education because they are of the opinion that she will bring about new ideas and the much-needed energy to the department.
“As champions of learners’ struggles, we have always maintained that transformation in the basic education sector was long overdue and for many years now we have been calling for the removal of Angie Motshekga, who has presided over the sector for over a decade while learners and teachers at rural and township schools remained underprivileged and less prioritised,” he said.
“But our endorsement of Minister Siviwe Gwarube shouldn’t be confused with approval of neo-liberal policies because we caution Gwarube against policies which are a norm in her party (DA), which prioritise the privileged over the marginalised,” he said.
He emphasised that the Progressive Students Movement will keep a close eye on the attitude and performance of Gwarube and that they will respond hastily if she resorts to anti-poor poor policies.
Nthekiso mentioned five areas which are of concern to the Progressive Students Movement:
1.Lack of infrastructure, which has led to overcrowding at various schools and leading to learners attending classes periodically and intermittently.
2.Inadequate supply of learning and teaching materials.
3.Poor safety and security measures at schools, which have resulted in the killings and rape of several learners.
4.Poor co-ordination of learners’ transport, resulting in learners having to walk miles to access their schools.
5. Lack of willingness to appoint/ employ teachers and at one school it was discovered that Grade 12’s don’t have a Maths and Science educator and have to rely on a graduate from the community to offer them free lessons in these subjects.
Nthekiso also delved into the matter of “everyday schooling,” whereby Matric learners are compelled to be at school each and every day, including Saturdays and Sundays and public holidays, from January until they write their final year examinations in November.
“As the Progressive Students Movement, we have always cautioned that the Monday-to-Monday classes must be implemented with occasional breaks in between, but this matter rests with the policies adopted by various School Governing Bodies (SGBs) at their respective schools, education districts and the provincial departments,” he said.
Nthekiso pointed out that in Gauteng, especially in the township of Mamelodi, Matric learners go to school every day because SGBs at those schools argued that ” everyday schooling” has brought about good performance in the final year Matric results.
Asked whether education specialists have been consulted regarding the implementation of “everyday schooling,” Nthekiso responded as follows: ” None at all, and input from some stakeholders was ignored in favour of a policy whereby each school or district or province would use its own discretion regarding ‘everyday schooling.”
But he pointed out that there are issues which they as an organisation won’t compromise upon, like incidents of racism at Western Cape Provincial schools.
“As the national structure we confronted the province’s MEC in 2022 and compelled him to address the rise of racism at the province’s schools,” he said.
He said as a matter of policy they always meet with education authorities countrywide in the course of each academic year to ventilate their stance on various issues, but that this year has been a challenge as many education authorities were engrossed in the general elections campaigns of their various political parties and didn’t have time for the annual “meet-and-greet” sessions with his movement.
He said even though the Minister of Basic Education and various education MECs have been changed, the Progressive Students Movement will eventually meet with these education authorities albeit belatedly.